In photography, a camera is used to expose a light sensitive film to light in order to create an image on the film. With normal film, the film is processed to create a negative image of the original image, and by projecting the negative image onto light sensitive paper a photograph is produced. With slide film, the film is processed to produce a positive image.
Generally, the processed film with its positive or negative image is cut into discrete lengths or film strips. These strips are of celluloid material having spaced, generally rectangular, perforations down the two parallel longitudinal edges of the strip where the film was wound about the storage spool of a camera.
Film strips carrying positive or negative images are routinely stored and saved as they provide a source for making multiple copies of a photograph. Presently, the most common storage method is to place the film strips in longitudinal pockets formed from transparent plastic. This arrangement allows the images to be examined by holding them up to a light.
The longitudinal pockets tend to be very tight in order to securely and safely hold the film strips. Unfortunately, this makes inserting and removing the strips from the pockets a frustrating task. The strips should be handled by their edges in order to avoid damaging the images thereon, but removing the strips often involves inserting a finger into a pocket and pressing against the surface of the strip in order to "fish" the strip out of a pocket. When inserting the strip into a pocket, care must be taken to push smoothly and gently so that the strip does not jam and bend thereby damaging an image.